reviewed by Heidi F
The focus of this year’s Regent/A Rocha conference (February 24-26th, 2006) was the link between people and the land. Noting that if the land suffers, the people suffer, and if people suffer, the land suffers, the conference explored the link between ecological and social justice. Featuring five speakers and a selection of five workshops, the conference was an opportunity to counteract misinformed theology regarding concepts of redemption which has pervaded the Church for some time. From previous contact with Regent and A Rocha, I know that the emphasis in the title of the conference of “a whole world” refers to the fact that “world” in Scripture often refers to human and non-human Creation—animals AND mankind (see John 3:16—the Greek word means Jesus died for the whole created world, not just people.) One thing I love about those I’ve come into contact with at Regent and A Rocha, is that even though they’re passionate about Creation care, and are concerned with the abuse, they are very gracious in not being fundamentalist or dogmatic about it. It’s an invitation to become part of Creation care, not an imperative command. So I invite you to join me in my journey towards earth + people keeping (you’ll learn more about this below).
Here’s my breakdown on the workshops and speakers whose lectures I attended. Please feel free to leave any comments to this post as I would love to help clarify any questions and keep this conversation going.
Speaker 1 - Iain Provan “The land is mine and you are only tenants: Earth-keeping and People-keeping in the Old Testament”
Iain Provan (the fantastic OT professor with a beautiful Scottish accent and dry sense of humour) started the weekend with a response to Lynn White’s criticism of Christianity and its role in Creation destruction and disrespect during the 1960’s. Dealing specifically with the concepts of “Earth-keeping” and “people-keeping”, Provan shared a theology which asserts that we are stewards of the Earth, and it is our job to take care of it; hence we are “Earth-keepers.” Likewise, the term “people-keeping” comes from the same concept; with social justice in mind Provan described (using Matthew 25:35 + and Isaiah 58:7) that we indeed are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers in that we are our neighbours’ keepers – and our neighbour is anyone thirsty, hungry, naked or in danger.
Having established that both earth-keeping and people-keeping are the Christian’s responsibility, Dr. Provan pointed out some OT scriptures that show how closely the two are linked. Hosea 4:1-3 is very explicit and powerful, saying that lying and adultery cause the land to mourn and animals to die. I love the line in Deuteronomy 20:19 where the author is talking about war and how Creation is an innocent victim, “Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them?” (I can’t help but think of the Ents in Lord of the Rings.)
From there, Dr. Provan addressed the issue of anthropocentrism in Biblical Creation Theology, showing that Creation has a purpose of its own apart from people. The created order and male-centrism was also addressed, showing that people-keeping in the Bible is not about hierarchy but about mutuality. Before concluding, Provan continued on to say that just government is important in the OT as is justice among neighbours. He also touched on the concept of Jubilee and the link between the land and tenants and stewardship and social justice - but that’s a whole other issue that’s too big to get into here!
His final statement sums up the theme of the weekend: “People-keeping and earth-keeping are not different options. They are both part of the same Christian calling.”
Speaker 2 - Dave Diewart “The People Cry Out & the Earth Mourns”
The second speaker is a favourite professor of mine from Regent: Dave Diewert. His call is to live in solidarity with the poor of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside; he’s only on staff part-time at Regent. An incredibly humble, courageous, gracious but challenging man, he called us to consider an alternative perspective to the dominant view of our world today—to challenge the status quo and listen to the cries of the poor and the mourning of the earth. A major point was that God hears the cries of his Creation (e.g. Israel under Pharaoh). Since Creation cries out (Rom 8:22), God will listen to its cries too. In Isaiah 24: 4-6, God judges Creation because the Israelites broke the covenant. Oppression of people is a huge offense to God, and oppression of the Earth is also offensive.
Speaker 3 - Alfredo Abreu “Justice, Earth and Heaven, According to the Beatitudes”
The third speaker on the day was Alfredo Abreu, a sociologist from Portugal with some Regent training who threw in some New Testament theology as he introduced the Beatitudes in terms of counter-cultural values and social justice. For example, meekness was described as being anti-power, position, possessions and violence. So much factors into our personal theologies of the role of Creation in our lives! Including exploitation and consumerism. Peter Harris (director of A Rocha) expanded on this by pointing out that facts aren’t enough—our attitude to Creation is rooted in choices which come from belief (which is why our theology is so important when it comes to Earth-keeping, and why bad recent theology has led to so much of Earth’s destruction). One example of underemphasized theology is the fact that when Jesus was resurrected (the first manifestation of the ‘eternally material’—of what we will be like in heaven in our resurrected bodies), he was flesh—he had scars and could be touched, and even ate.
Abreu focussed less on direct Scriptural examples of social and eco-justice, but on attitudes that cause inequality and oppression such as the desire for ‘relevancy,’ popularity, recognition, and power (apparently drawn from one of Nouwen’s interpretations of Jesus’ three temptations).
Speaker 4 - Stella Simiyu “The Word, Conservation and a Human Face: An African Perspective
Stella Simiyu, a biologist from Kenya involved with plant conservation asked about the role of those who worship the Creator considering “the global community has recognized the link among people, poverty, environmental conservation, economic growth and sustainable development.”
Speaker 5 - Peter Harris “Connecting Up”
The final speaker spoke very simply about basic Christianity and a just faith for the whole world. Much injustice in the world is due to selfishness and exploitation, which I think any Christian would agree is completely contrary to the values Jesus demonstrated. Another basic concept was brought up: Creation-care as worship. Very simply, we care for Creation because we love the Creator.
Workshop - Matthias Stiefel - “Political Security and Ecological Stress”
War was also talked about in the workshop I attended in the afternoon, which was directed by the president of Warn-torn Societies Project International (involved specifically in conflict resolution in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa). He gave specific examples of how destructive war is to the land (acres of landmines making land unusable, refugees draining local resources out of need), and how control and use of resources leads to war. His suggestion is that Africa needs reconciliation, not justice (which leads to more war).
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editor's note:
For those interested/intrigued: An mp3 of the conference is available in full from Regent's online bookstore here
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